Exploring the Terminus
by Katkiller-V
Summary: The Terminus; where Warlords reign and war upon one another in an endless pursuit of power, while Aria watches from her black throne on Omega. But this region of space is more than just that station, more than just pirate havens and run down slums. This story seeks to expand the known galaxy, and to reveal the history of the major worlds, and just how their people survive.
1. Order of Battle: Terminus Edition I

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Order of Battle: Terminus Edition Part I**

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 _Historical Basis for Council-Terminus Engagements_

While filled with numerous small nation-states, no single one of which could be a threat to the big three Citadel nations, the Terminus as a whole is considered the largest threat to galactic stability currently in existence. It has held this role since just before the Krogan Rebellions, and in many ways the slow Asari and Salarian response to Krogan aggression was due to their over-focus on the Terminus Warlords then active.

Publicly, the Council is extremely dismissive of the Terminus as a threat due to the disorganized and conflicted nature of the region, and the lack of any real central authority. While the recent war between Ganar and T'Loak was unusually vicious, the fact remains than there is a similarly large conflict every fifty or sixty years within the region as tensions boil over. Usually this occurs when young, up and coming warlords seek to violently expand, or when their elders attempt to contain or eliminate them.

Privately, the Council is more than aware that the Terminus has a long history of unifying in very short order when they believe the Citadel is interfering in their affairs. To date, there have been seven 'Incursions' that featured a Terminus alliance taking war to the Citadel nations. Only one of these has occurred during Aria's rule, the so-called Cotarian Affair, while Patriarch lead one as well. The prior five occurred before, during, and then after the Krogan rebellions.

Nearly all existent war games and plans are based upon these Incursions, updated periodically in Council Arms Committees based upon current trends.

 _Early Incursions_

The early incursions were characterized by their relatively primitive nature and limited goals. These were not invasions of conquest or declarations of war so much as they were pirate raids on a galactic scale, coordinated beneath a central leadership in order to maximize the damage and profits. Their primary goal, which was generally achieved, was to demonstrate to the Council that the Terminus was beyond their control and that it _would_ fight to maintain that status.

 _ **Xenthan Incursion** : _The first time that the Council was forced to recognize that the Terminus was a military threat was shortly after the Salarian Union had awarded the Maferath, Halla, and Tevine clusters to the Krogan in the wake of the Rachni Wars. Not about to give the Empire a foothold so near to their territory, the Terminus Warlords then active met on Omega and unified beneath Matriarch Carrathi T'Sharea.

Her vessels, with their distinctive black armor, would give rise to the 'Black Fleet' designation given to the combined Terminus forces, who swarmed into Krogan and then Salarian space in a rapid scorched earth campaign before just as quickly retreating back to their ports.

 _ **Rebellion Incursions** : _Three additional incursions, all lead by T'Sharea, would occur during the Krogan Rebellions. Two were in response to Krogan aggression and actually proved to be of some aid to the beleaguered Citadel forces, as the combined Terminus fleet shattered the Imperial Fourth Armada in the second Incursion.

The third was smaller, a punitive strike against the nascent Hierarchy after the Turians attempted to secure bases in the Tevine cluster. While the Turians had no ability to respond at the time, they would remember, and a century after the war's end would lead to the fourth incursion.

 _ **Anderfels Retaliation:**_ The closest that the Terminus and Council have ever come to open war occurred just after the Krogan Rebellions. The Hierarchy had not forgotten the humiliating loss of the 12th Strike Group above Anderfels, and were dismissive of the Asari and Salarians for their refusal to bring order to the Terminus. A heavy strike fleet was dispatched and began to secure the Tevine cluster, easily fending off the initial, uncoordinated reprisals from the local pirate groups. The various warlords met on Omega to discuss their options in light of declarations from Palaven that indicated this was merely the first step in 'securing' the entire region.

Rather than unify under a central command, the various Warlords instead put a different plan into motion. Going off of the advice from the newly arrived Krogan refugees, they elected to avoid offering the Turians open battle or even going after the Hierarchy at all. Instead the Black Fleet swarmed into both the Republics and Union, hammering patrol groups and razing still-battered colonies before withdrawing. The war weary Asari and Salarians had no stomach, or capacity, for _another_ galactic war, and the Council dictated an ultimatum to Palaven: Withdraw or disperse your fleets to protect our colonies as well. Failure to comply would see the economic assistance cease immediately.

The Turians, lacking the capacity to protect all of Council space as well as go on the offensive, sullenly withdrew.

 _Modern Incursions_

The two modern Incursions, lead by Patriarch and Aria, were more mixed affairs than the earlier operations. Not as tactically successful in the short term, but strategically they again served to reinforce the Terminus's capability of overt military action when required. They also form the basis of most modern planning around a potential war with the region.

 _ **Rethian Incident:**_ Four centuries ago, the Council considered itself properly recovered from the Rebellions and well suited to finally make some inroads against their ideological rival. While still wanting to avoid open war, the notion of restarting proper colonization of the Attican Traverse was appealing for a number of reasons. The Rethian cluster was selected as ideally positioned on the Salarian border, reachable by three relays, and in position to blunt the habitual raids. Lead by three Hiearchy and two Union battlegroups, the Council quickly 'pacified' the region and made preparations to stay. The operation was timed to occur just as the Quarian's Federated State moved to secure Xentha.

Opposing them was Warlord Raik Vol, ruler of Omega (and future Patriarch), and he was more than aware that this would merely be the first step of a long-term plan to further isolate the Terminus by consuming the Traverse that had acted as the proxy-battleground between Omega and the Citadel. The dual-loss of the Maferath and Rethian clusters saw him call a Crush on Omega, and he was quickly joined by Weyrloc Zaen, Ganar Yulaz, Matriarch T'Kun, the Salarian Trinity, and more than forty 'minor' warlords then active.

The plan they hammered out consisted of two primary steps. First, the Rethian cluster had to be cleared, and the Council forced to withdraw. Once the supporting forces were cleared out, the Quarians could be dealt with in detail and Xentha recovered. The Rethian operation would consist of three principle operations. The first would be lead by Matriarch T'Kun, and would consolidate all of the capital ships then available to the Terminus near relay 248. This group would act as a fleet-in-being, pinning the Council fleets in Rethia simply by their presence. A second fleet, run by the Trinity and supported by Ganar's elite Krogan army, would fight through relay 249 and attack Salarian worlds to draw the Union's fleets away. The third group, commanded by Vol and Zaen, would follow a longer route through the Traverse to menace the Hierarchy proper and minimize reinforcements.

Independent raiders would form up under _Ha'diq_ ul Culd, and begin an old-stye incursion into the Republics to keep the Asari busy. Once Rethia was isolated, T'Kun would move in and destroy the Turian fleets, after which all groups would return to Omega to await the Council's response.

Initially, the strikes went well. The Second Fleet breached Union Space after a pair of sharp engagements, and the Republics were soon entirely occupied dealing with pirates attacking dozens of worlds simultaneously. Unfortunately for the Terminus, the Salarians had anticipated the counter-attack, and began one of their own. The Trinity and Ganar were driven back with heavy losses when the colonies they attacked proved to be little more than pre-prepared traps intended to kill as many pirates as possible, and Vol and Zaen ran headlong into the Union's Third Fleet, which had been shifted to protect the Turian supply lines.

Adjusting their own plans on the fly, T'Kun called for both pincers to move at once to Rethia, and jumped there with the Terminus's heavy fleet to offer the elated Turians battle. Twenty-nine Terminus dreadnoughts and battlecruisers engaged twenty-seven Turian ships of the line in the largest capital ship duel since the third battle of Tuchanka, with hundreds of lighter vessels scattering across the cluster in a dozen smaller battles.

When the proverbial dust settled, the Terminus had lost more heavy ships, twelve to the Turian's eight, but had managed to destroy the Primarch's flagship, using the temporary loss of coordination to break the Turians' tight formations. The Hierarchy fleet was unpleasantly surprised when the additional Terminus fleets arrived, and elected to retreat to Salarian space to recover and plan a coordinated counter-attack.

But once again politics would come into play, the Asari being more than irritated that Salarian and Turian scheming had dragged them into the conflict. The Salarians themselves had suffered heavier casualties than anticipated, and T'Kun's sudden attack had disrupted several of their covert plans to prepare the cluster to entrap the Terminus's largest force and destroy it in detail. In the end, the Council once again called an end to the campaign over Turian objections, and a tense peace settled back into place.

While the Terminus had won a strategic victory, they had incurred far heavier losses than their opponents, and Raik Vol's place as the preeminent warlord was threatened by his personally mediocre performance. His killing of Matriarch T'Kun twenty years later temporarily secured his position, but also robbed the Terminus of its best fleet commander and destabilized the spinward Terminus.

 _ **Cotarian Affair:**_ Aria's sole incursion occurred a century and a half ago, and was focused around Illium and the anti-spinward Republics. Ambassador Cotaria, the Republics representative on Nos Astra, had long been agitating for the unification of the spinward Terminus's Asari worlds with the Republics, by force if necessary. This made her horrifically unpopular locally, and her continued presence was considered an insult by the Board of Directors. She overstepped herself when she chastised Jona Sederis at a grand ball, following the statement up with several more insults for her 'uncivilized' hosts.

It was of no surprise to anyone in Nos Astra when she was found dead the next morning, along with the entire embassy staff. The Republics promptly went to a war-footing, the public for once demanding action, and the eager Hierarchy began their own preparations for a retaliatory campaign. Unfortunately for both nations, the politics had changed since the Rethian incident, as had the Terminus. The counter-weight of the Quarians was gone, and the Batarians and Salarians were too busy engaging one another in a shadow-war to involve themselves.

In contrast, the Terminus had improved its fortunes considerably. The Xenthan Empire had risen under the Turian Hakar family in the Maferath and Tevine clusters, while Lady Warlord T'Ravt's Free Traverse State dominated Rethia and Halla. Further, the Eclipse had more or less unified the typically fractured Outcast Asari.

Aria's summons saw the major actors gather on Omega, and agree to a basic war-plan should the Council decide to push. None of the warlords were, for once, eager for a fight, recognizing the Hierarchy's growth over the last several centuries. Instead, the usual plan of playing to Council politics was put into motion, with the targets being the Republics and the Union. Placed under Leska Sederis's command at Illium were the majority of the Terminus's heavy forces; Aria's Black Fleet, the Eclipse's Golden Armada, the Xenthan Navy, T'Ravt's fleet, and Zaen's old Krogan vessels. The usual mass of independent pirate ships, coordinated by Ganar Yulaz, would gather in the Traverse itself, clearly declaring their intent to launch a mass raid on the Salarians.

With nearly forty capital ships now above Illium, Thessia's government hesitated. Back-channel conversation with the Salarians revealed a very real fear that the Hegemony might jump in on Omega's side of any conflict. The debate to start a galactic war over the death of an unpopular ambassador was interrupted by an offer from the Board of Directors to pay minor reparations and offer a formal apology. The Republics' Assembly quickly accepted the deal, and though tensions remained high for the next three years, the primary Terminus fleets withdrew.

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 **Council War Plans**

Most modern Council plans for war with the Terminus assume the following points:

1\. The Terminus has a long-term trend towards nation building that has accelerated in recent years, and within the next century it is likely that three to five permanent states will have emerged with minimal independent colonies remaining. These nations would centered around Omega, Illium, and Xentha. Smaller powers may also exist around Zadith Ban, Theodosius, and Redcliffe-Stormwall.

2\. This trend coincides with a steady migration of smaller groups to the Traverse, increasing that region's instability and threatening Union and Alliance interests. The most likely cause for a war would be Council action to pacify critical stellar clusters in the Traverse, an action that has historically been met with Terminus retaliation.

3\. The Batarian Hegemony would likely join any coordinated Terminus action directed against the Systems Alliance or Salarian Union.

4\. Long term, the infrastructure and coordinated industrial capacity of the Citadel nations would likely assure victory, however the public and political will to maintain a military campaign guaranteed to last years or decades has been historically lacking.

5\. Individually, any one Council nation is not powerful enough to maintain a war against a unified Terminus. A collapse of willpower from any single nation would be enough to cause an end to the campaign, and efforts must be expended to ensure public support and protection.

6\. Terminus forces typically show fanatic levels of morale when defending their territory, but are historically quick to cut and run when undertaking offensive campaigns if that campaign is not proceeding well.

7\. Prior Terminus actions indicate their probable plan will be an evolution of their prior strategies.

In light of those seven points, the Council plan is roughly as convoluted as one would expect a multinational plan of battle to be. The trigger action is generally presumed to be a Turian advance through Alliance space into the Atttican Traverse, sparking a Terminus consolidation for war. It also assumes that all existent Council races are working in coordination and are fully prepared for the campaign.

The primary goals are anticipated to be the elimination of the Hegemony and Xenthan Empire as political bodies, and securing both regions. A secondary objective would be the seizure of critical Outcast Asari worlds (Illium, Cathia, and/or Hesium). As per standard Council doctrine, the Citadel fleet admiral would be the supreme commander for the grand campaign, with the Citadel and Volus fleets begin kept as a strategic reserve.

Current doctrine is for three distinct zones of battle. The first would be in the Hegemony, and would consist of Alliance and Union forces eliminating the Batarian nation. STG teams, supported by Salarian Spectres and Human N7 special forces teams, would destabilize the nation by attacking critical installations and assassinating competent _Ha'diq_ and military leaders. While the Alliance would begin a broad-push advance to secure or destroy the Hegemony's Class A colonies, the Union would make a lightning attack on Khar'shan itself to break the nation.

The second zone would be the Traverse and Xenthan region. The Terminus's expected reaction is a mirror of the Cotarian Plan; a consolidated heavy fleet moving to threaten the Traverse while a mass pirate armada positions itself near Illium in preparation for a surge into the Republics. To counter this, the full Hierarchy fleet, back-stopped by the Elcor, would offer direct battle, preferably in the Traverse, trusting Turian discipline and zeal. Even a lost battle would be considered a strategic victory if sufficient Terminus ships were destroyed, as the Council nations can more easily replace losses. Once the primary threat was beaten back, or destroyed entirely, the Hierarchy would begin a slow push into the core Xenthan regions.

The third zone would be in the Republics, with the entire Asari navy positioned to intercept attackers. Asari and Turian spectres would be scattered across the nation, charged with leading resistance and local counter-attacks to ensure that even a successful raid suffers heavier losses than the pirate captains will be willing to accept. If practicable, the Asari would also advance on Illium to attempt to lure the Golden Armada away from the Traverse-Xentha zone.

The initial engagement is planned to last for several months, and be followed with a five to ten year campaign to secure Xentha and the Hegemony entirely. The former would become a Turian protectorate and buffer-state between the Salarians and Terminus, while the latter would be vassalized by Earth. By such time any Terminus alliance will likely have fractured as the warlords seek to safeguard their own power rather than help each other, and the Council would be given a reprieve to rest and refit.

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 **Terminus War Plans**

While there is no 'unified' plan, Jona Sederis, Aria T'Loak, and Yan T'Ravt are all recognized as having their own war plans in case of conflict with the Council.

Aria's strategy is essentially along the Council's expectations, featuring a massive gathering of forces at Omega, divided into two fleets. The first, heavier fleet, would move to threaten and counter any direct Council action. The second, raiding force, would be directed against whichever nation seemed to have the weakest political will (likely the Republics).

In contrast, the Eclipse is focused entirely on a conflict with the Republics, and believes them to be the largest threat to the Terminus. Their plan essentially revolves around drawing any attacker from the Traverse into a slogging campaign through the Xenthan region while the Terminus goes on the offensive into the Republics. The main Terminus fleet would be used aggressively, to destroy and drive back the Asari and carve out a buffer zone of relays around Illium before allowing the smaller pirate bands to burst through openings provided. The end goal is the societal collapse of the Republics and Thessia's will to fight, forcing the other Council nations to waste billions of credits and years of time putting the nation back together.

Finally, Yan T'Ravt is the only major player on either side to believe that a more limited war is possible. The majority of her focus is on the Systems Alliance, believing that the Council would be more than happy to let the humans suffer the brunt of any fighting over the Traverse and would do little to interfere so long as the other Warlords also remained out of the fighting.

Her staff has assembled three primary plans as a result; an offensive plan to seize Horizon and the other independent colonies that could be used to stage Alliance forces, a defensive plan intended to protect Xentha and Anderfels from an expected Alliance attack, and a surprise offensive intended to destroy the Alliance's Fourth Fleet near Watson, using the Alliance's standard procedure of retaliation to lure the Fifth or Third into the Maferath cluster to be destroyed in detail. After which either the offensive or defensive plans would be put into motion depending on casualties suffered in the prior engagements.

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 **Military-Political Cohesion of the Terminus**

The primary limiting factor to both sides is the capability of the various actors to remain allied and to work together in a unified fashion. In this, both sides have their advantages and disadvantages.

The Council, as a military alliance, is extremely secure with long-established chains of command. Matriarch Lidanya has total authority over the combined Council Fleet, and should the need arise, can conscript the forces of any member state via Council approval. Otherwise, national commanders remain in control of their own forces, though they may be placed under the supreme command of an Asari Matriarch or Turian Primarch. These would act as regional commanders, and be responsible for directing grand strategy while still leaving their subordinate admirals free to act in accordance to their national doctrine.

In contrast, there is no defined leader of the Terminus armada, and even when grouped together the various internal groups tend to agitate one another. Traditionally, the most qualified Asari admiral is given fleet control, and it is anticipated that Leska Sederis would assume that role in a future conflict. While this would generally ensure that Illium-Omega-Xenthan forces act properly, Heinrich die Waffe is not a fan of the aristocratic Asari and his people would likely chafe under her command. Past incursions saw numerous divisions of Terminus naval groups entirely due to internal strain, and the varying methods of dispatching commands ensured that even numerically superior Terminus forces can struggle to maintain formation.

The counterpoint is the unfortunate fact that the Citadel Council is not unified politically except in fiction. The Asari openly hate the existing battle plan and constantly agitate to change the point of focus away from Xentha and towards Illium, and their population would be highly unlikely to support Turian-Human expansion. The Elcor and Volus likewise have no real appetite for conflict with the Terminus, believing that the region's slow march towards civilized nation-states will eventually make them palatable neighbors. Humanity is the only real backer of the Turian plan, though there are many political movements that are against such military adventurism. For their own viewpoint, the Salarians approve of the plan in concept, but reject the division of spoils at the end, not seeing why the Alliance and Hierarchy should receive swathes of the galaxy.

Against this are the various Warlords. While they are openly rivals with one another, in many cases they get on better personally that the Citadel Councilors, and are generally considered to be utterly united in their hatred of anything Council related. While there would assuredly be back-room bickering, particular over the spoils of war and who is contributing what to the action, once a war began the Terminus would likely remain tightly allied until sufficiently powerful military defeats were inflicted.

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 **Intelligence Sources**

The Terminus's ability to gather actionable, military intelligence varies sharply depending upon the region and the inclination of the Shadow Broker to provide them with data.

The Attican Traverse is the most reported on area outside of the Terminus, and very little occurs in the region without Aria, T'Ravt, or die Waffe being informed. Much of this information comes from independent pirates who are paid small amounts for accurate intel, with more coming in from paid off colonists and Hegemony resources. Likewise, the Asari Republics are rife with sympathizers for the Outcast movement, and both Aria and Sederis generally have a good feel for both the military and political actions occurring there.

In contrast, the Union and Alliance are veritable blank walls beyond what marauding pirates and criminals can provide, and the Warlords generally rely heavily on the Broker to keep them updated in regards to Salarian and Human actions. This is a noted change from mere decades prior, when Die Waffe had a sizable spy ring operating in the Skyllian Verge. It's discovery and destruction sharply limited the capacity for deep raids into the Alliance in the wake of the Blitz.

Against this are the full powers of the Council's intelligence agencies and Spectre offices, though both groups have to balance their time between investigating and watching each other in addition to watching the Terminus. As a general trend, Council intelligence on the economic state of the Terminus is generally accurate thanks to STG penetration, but the paranoid nature of the Warlords typically ensures that there is a less clear view of their military capability.

The largest problem is generally conveying what information is given back to their superiors without revealing themselves, given the fact that the Terminus's FTL network is infested with several shackled AI's that are quick to notice unusual communications signals. Omega's Elder in particular is problematic as it forces spies to use physical drives and dead-drops to get their reports out.

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 _Next chapter will have the actual order of battle, since that will be useful as a reference for the core story as it progresses._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	2. Order of Battle: Terminus Edition II

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Order of Battle: Terminus Edition Part II**

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 **Fleet Numbers**

 _(As of 2186)_

If the Terminus was a consolidated nation, it would have both the largest navy as well as the largest merchant marine in the galaxy. Fortunately for everyone else, there is a massive number of constraints upon those raw numbers that sharply limits the Warlords' capability to project power beyond the limits of the Terminus systems.

 _Terminus Order of Battle: Greater Warlords_

The fleets of the Great Warlords are generally what is considered as the Terminus's navy proper. They would be the first armadas mobilized against any direct attack into Terminus space, and would like form the core heavy fleet for an Incursion. If combined, these major warlords can form a heavy fleet that is roughly equivalent to the Republic's navy in terms of raw numbers.

 _The Black Fleet (Aria):_ 3 dreadnoughts, 5 battlecruisers, 32 heavy cruisers, 46 line cruisers, 40 light cruisers, 61 destroyers, 207 frigates/corvettes

 _The Golden Armada (Sederis)_ : 2 dreadnoughts, 1 carrier, 7 battlecruisers, 87 heavy cruisers, 196 line cruisers, 67 destroyers, 142 frigates/corvettes

 _Xenthan Imperial Fleet (T'Ravt):_ 3 dreadnoughts, 7 battlecruisers, 63 heavy cruisers, 97 line cruisers, 102 light cruisers, 134 destroyers, 22 pocket carriers, 289 frigates/corvettes

 _Steel Fleet (die Waffe):_ 4 dreadnoughts, 4 battlecruisers, 48 heavy cruisers, 98 line cruisers, 152 light cruisers, 231 destroyers, 42 pocket carriers, 390 frigates/corvettes

 _Rimward Collective Armada (Ul Yesh):_ 2 dreadnoughts, 2 battlecruisers, 22 heavy cruisers, 40 line cruisers, 43 light cruisers, 38 destroyers, 97 frigates/corvettes

 _Terminus Order of Battle: Lesser Warlords_

The fleets of the 'lesser' Warlords are still exceedingly dangerous, but are generally more limited in scope. Further, while they are grouped together below, the number of actual warlords in the region is noted after their description. These numbers also include mercenary formations with sufficient money to wield fleet assets.

 _Eclipse Meshinvi (17):_ 1 battlecruiser, 47 heavy cruisers, 52 line cruisers, 48 light cruisers, 62 destroyers, 102 frigates/corvettes

 _Omega Meshinvi (5):_ 22 heavy cruisers, 14 line cruisers, 19 light cruisers, 24 destroyers, 142 frigates/corvettes

 _Rimward Warlords (29):_ 4 battlecruisers, 46 heavy cruisers, 22 line cruisers, 86 light cruisers, 64 destroyers, 201 frigates/corvettes

 _Anti-Spinward Warlords (6):_ 8 heavy cruisers, 9 line cruisers, 7 light cruisers, 17 destroyers, 5 pocket carriers, 82 frigates/corvettes

 _Coreward Warlords (27):_ 5 battlecruisers, 42 heavy cruisers, 40 line cruisers, 84 light cruisers, 81 destroyers, 17 pocket carriers, 364 frigates/corvettes

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 **Force Projection - Limitations**

If the full might of the Terminus was allied, they would have roughly as many capital ships as the Turians, and would have far more cruisers and light ships than even the Asari Republics. While that is an intimidating number, there are a sharp number of limitations on the ability of this massive force to actually project itself offensively into enemy territory.

 _Technological Variance_

The largest disadvantage faced by the Terminus is the simple fact that most of this massive fleet is very, very old. Perhaps one in five ships can be considered 'modern' (built in the last thirty years), two out of five are 'recent' (build in the last century and a half), and the last two-fifths are 'elderly' (would have been mothballed or scrapped by any other nation).

The Warlord's erratic access to the region's major shipyards is largely responsible for the trend of keeping ships in operation long past their technical life, relying on upgrades and refits to modernize them whenever possible. While this does mean that even older Terminus ships are equipped with fairly modern weaponry, they are much like the Quarian Flotilla in that they are also very vulnerable to cascading systems failures and rely heavily on patchwork internal systems.

What this means offensively is that the majority of the Terminus fleets are not actually designed to stand in battle together, or to have a standardized operational duration. Further, excepting newer or specifically designed ships, Terminus fleets generally prefer to avoid long slugging matches in favor of fast, pitched battles. This tends to work in their favor against the similarly inclined Salarians and Humans, but long-endurance Turian and Batarian formations can be more problematic for them to deal with.

Most of the organized Warlords are intelligent enough to recognize this as a drawback, and attempted to standardize tech wherever they can, but the costs and difficulties inherent to doing so mean they are not universally capable of doing so. A general trend in older ships is to retro-fit them with Asari electronics and Batarian/Turian weapons systems.

 _Offensive Logistics_

Tied into the technological variance is the issue of logistics. The massive numbers of designs and equipment in use means that a Terminus battle fleet requires somewhere between three and four times the number of supply ships to support it than an equivalent national fleet. This can also be seen in Citadel forces, and is largely the reason why the multinational Council Fleet is a defensive body, but unlike their rivals the Terminus has no real choice but to deal with the issue.

A further problem is the lack of national merchant marines. Only Aria and T'Ravt actually maintain civilian fleets directly under their own control, and T'Ravt's remains a very limited group despite recent efforts to triple its size. While the Terminus has a massive number of 'civilian' vessels, nearly all are privately owned. This again means that they are hardly standardized, or trustworthy, creating yet another set of headaches for luckless supply officers forced to hire or conscript them.

This drawback is most apparent in the Warlord's ability to move large numbers of ground troops. An example can be seen in the Xenthan Empire. Despite having a similar population to the Systems Alliance (around 20 billion) and having a roughly four percent conscription rate, T'Ravt simply does not have the transport capacity to deploy more than five or six million soldiers beyond her own worlds. She could theoretically hire or conscript sufficient transports to move far more than that, but it would come at the risk of bankrupting herself and destabilizing trade through her empire.

More than any other reason, this is the cause for the Terminus's lack of expansionism into the Traverse. Unless the entire Terminus was unified in action, and shared the costs equally, even the Salarians would find it fairly trivial to overwhelm whatever ground forces any one Warlord could be moved into the region. Further, any massive fleet operation beyond the Terminus's main trade lanes is generally on an operational time limit; historically the Warlords have been averse to any 'foreign' campaign that lasts longer than six to eight standard months.

 _Politics: Greater & Lesser_

While the upper crust of the Terminus would unify in short order against any direct threat from the Citadel, the governing style of the Terminus is not one generally conductive to cohesive military action across the galactic battle-space. In the past, this was utilized by the Terminus as an advantage; while the Greater Warlords consolidated their forces, their subordinates were free to act independently in the mass-raiding force. This was a massive problem for Council defenders, as rather than a single enemy, they were faced with nearly a hundred small fleets all operating within their own doctrines and tempo, typically coordinated from Omega.

This setup is also a disadvantage however, as the majority of the Lesser Warlords are not properly equipped or trained to work with their superiors in a battle-line. Further, while most of the Greater Warlord's forces are geared towards fighting each other or the Council, the Lesser Warlords tend to focus their ships towards raiding. As they also rarely have the capability to standardize their ship's equipment, attempting to add them to a fleet will put even more strain on the Terminus's already shaky logistical capacity.

What this means strategically is that the Lesser Warlords and their fleets are largely restricted to one of two roles; defending Terminus positions and trade lanes, or raiding Council targets.

 _Industrial Capacity_

The greatest factor limiting Terminus ambition is the industrial capacity of the region. Understandably, the various Warlords are extremely possessive of what shipyards and heavy industry they control. Aria and die Waffe are unique in Terminus history in that both actually base their empires around the notion of exporting weapons, eezo, and warships to their ostensible rivals.

However, in the case of a total war with the Council, even should the Warlords unify militarily, the idea of economically unifying beneath a central coordinator is unthinkable to them. Each Warlord would have to attempt to manage resupplying and re-equipping their own forces, something that would become far more difficult as each of them prioritize replenishing their own fleets and armies over supplying their allies with badly needed gear.

Further, the centralized nature of Terminus capital ship construction renders it vulnerable. While the Stormwall and Conquest yards are both very far removed from Council space, their loss would leave only the Illium and Xentha yards as capable of building dreadnought sized vessels. Even then, both can only practically build one at a time.

Far better for the Terminus is the massive number of smaller shipyards that can churn out everything from cargo ships to light cruisers in fairly short order. Most Turian war games that last beyond the opening year of a conflict envision a Terminus that goes all-out on producing light cruisers and raiding vessels to enact mass harassment operations while what capital ships they have left lurk near Omega.

* * *

 **Notable Naval Designs**

The emergence of the Xenthan Empire, both under Hakar and later T'Ravt, and the arrival of Heinrich die Waffe has caused something of a ship-building Renaissance in the Terminus systems. Prior to those events, the vast majority of Terminus vessels were simply variations of Council designs, with Asari vessels built on or above Outcasts worlds, while Turian and Batarian ships were assembled across the remainder of the region.

While the Eclipse and Outcasts continue to largely focus on Asari designs, the remainder of the Terminus has embraced the local 'styles' with gusto. The greatest advantage to the new designs is that they are actually intended to fight in Terminus space rather that simply mimicking what the Council nations were doing. What this largely means is a sharp shift towards being able to deal with large numbers of lighter vessels while still maintaining enough firepower to threaten heavy targets.

What this means practically is that the newer Terminus designs are intended to insure the Greater Warlords are easily able to deal with rebellious pirates or subordinates, at the expense of not being quite as effective against the Hierarchy battle line. An acceptable trade-off is that this focus also makes their ships far more effective against Salarian and Human tactics, which tend to revolve around wolf-packs and the heavy usage of carrier fighters.

 _Terminus Capital Ships_

 _ **Stormwall Pattern Dreadnought:**_ One of two uniquely Terminus dreadnought designs, the _Stormwall_ class is roughly the size of the Alliance's _Everest_ design. It shares the Human love for redundancy, and the Batarian concept of internal honeycomb armor, but dispenses with fixed broadside weapons in favor of a massive number of secondary turrets, missile bays, and laser arrays. While this limits its ability to in-fight with other capital ships, this is an acceptable trade-off to its designers given its capability to stand off several frigate wolf-packs or engage multiple cruisers simultaneously with minimal escort.

Members 7: (T'Ravt) _Dark Tide, Blood Tide, Riptide,_ (Die Waffe) _Stormwall, Storm Front, Storm Wind, Storm's Thunder_

 _ **Sun Pattern Battlecruiser:**_ The first Terminus dreadnoughts built by Die Waffe, The _Sun_ class more resembles the traditional battle-cruiser concept of a glass cannon. Possessing a high acceleration for its size, and an acceptable secondary battery, only their prow armor is as thick as proper dreadnought plate. Their primary purpose is to act as a firing platform near relay choke-points, hammering enemy capital ships and cruisers from extreme range and withdrawing before heavy ships can close. Like the newer _Stormwall_ class, they dispense with fixed broadside weapons in favor of turrets to improve their capability of dealing with attacking frigates or fighters.

Members 11: (T'Ravt) _Ember Celica, Slash of Fire, Burning Rose, Betelgeuse's Revenge, Blazing Effigy,_ (Sederis) _Polaris's Glare, Howl of Sirus,_ (Die Waffe) _Nova's Flare, Solar Blade,_ (Aria) _Cackling Death, End Times_

 _ **Unity of Purpose class Dreadnought:**_ While not a native Terminus design, the three members of this Asari dreadnought class are the largest warships in the Terminus fleets and are worth remarking upon. While not the size of the _Destiny Ascension_ , these fifteen-hundred meter behemoths are more than capable of obliterating anything besides another Asari dreadnought in short order, and are justifiably the prides of the fleets they are involved in. Much like the Citadel flagship that they resemble, they rarely leave their defensive positions around Illium and Omega, insuring obedience through firepower.

Members 3: (Aria) _Drowned Queen,_ (Sederis) _Solar Eclipse, Blade of Vengeance_

 _Terminus Cruiser Designs_

 _ **Khadira class Heavy Cruiser:**_ Essentially a Terminus variation of the succuesful Batarian _Honored by the Pillars_ class cruiser, the _Khadira_ type is slightly larger in order to fit additional supplies and a fifth GARDIAN array. Essentially a floating brick riddling with internal honey-comb armor, the _Khadira_ are intended to be able to operate as 'light' capital ships by simple virtue of their durability. The vessels are highly prized for their point-defense capability, though their slow acceleration rate remains a noted drawback.

 _ **Colshu class Heavy Cruiser:**_ Another variation design, this one based off of the Hegemony's _Hensa_ class heavy cruiser. Built along the same lines as the _Khadira_ but on a longer scale, it copies the _Hensa's_ overly large large broadside batteries and triple spinal mount. The trade off is a lack of missiles and limited torpedo capacity, along with only two GARDIAN arrays. Less useful in warding off small ships, the _Colshu_ is primarily intended to hammer its way through enemy cruiser lines, and to fight enemy capital ships when operating in groups. The main difference from the _Hensa_ template is the loss of three broadside guns on each side to fit additional cargo space to extend the class's short operational capacity.

 _ **Mountain Forge class Cruiser:**_ The pride of Hakar the Fourth's fleet, the _Mountain Forge_ class were originally based off of Quarian _Kulurori_ light cruisers. While an adequate type, Hakar opted to include Batarian principles and up sized the vessel to a line cruiser. Intended as a jack-of-all-trades design, it mounts a well-balanced array of weapons; 2 spinal guns, 4 broadside guns per side, three GARDIAN arrays, a torpedo launcher, and a pair of missile bays. Moderate armor and moderate speed make it an acceptable, if uninspiring, design.

 _ **Longsword class Cruiser:**_ Another die Waffe ship, this one designed by the Warlord himself, the _Longsword_ is a Terminus rarity: a dedicated missile ship. While possessing lower then usual armor for its size, the ship can store and launch hundreds of missiles. These can be either used to directly overwhelm a target's point defense, or simply to screen the four torpedo tubes that serve as the ship's heaviest weapons.

 _ **Jeshi class Mothership:**_ Another design by Hakar the Fourth, the _Jeshi_ is roughly the size of a light cruiser but is equipped only with point defense weapons. It's primary purpose is to act as a mobile supply base for raiding and slaving operations. They typically operate in pairs, with one intended to support combat operations via supplies and medical suites, while the other acts as a warehouse to store loot and slaves. Both typically carry as many as twenty FTL capable shuttles, and will rotate through deep-space rendezvous points while their shuttles carry troops to attack colonies.

 _ **Donitz class carrier**_ : A redesign of the _Jeshi_ by Warlord die Waffe's design committee, the _Donitz_ is a quintessential 'pocket carrier'. Carrying a heavy fighter squadron and sufficient supplies to repair and maintain them, they typically operate either as independent raiders or support ships for larger pirate forces. Unlike the _Jeshi_ , the _Dontiz_ actually possess cruiser level armor and substantial missile bays, though it still lacks spinal main guns or heavy turrets.

 _Terminus Light Ship Designs_

 _ **Venk'atira class destroyer:**_ An Xentha vessel specifically designed to deal with over-engineered Salarian frigates. Possessing the best ECM and ECCM suites available from Illium, the _Venk'atira_ possesses a specially designed 'light' spinal gun that focuses on rate of fire over raw damage. Backing it up are four ultra-violet laser emitters along with an oversized engine to allow for reasonable acceleration despite its thick armor. A highly advanced design, it is also difficult to build, highly expensive, and has a fairly short operational duration to its cramped interior.

 _ **Lorthadin class destroyer:**_ A dedicated raiding ship, the _Lorthadin_ is an older class that is still capable if well-maintained and run. Intended to operate alone for long durations, it carriers four shuttles and an extensive number of supplies. Well armed with a spinal mount, two laser emitters, and four mixed caliber turrets, its primary weakness is its older sensor suite and mediocre armor. Its lack of missiles and torpedoes also marks it as less than useful in a line of battle.

 _ **Sun Sword class frigate:**_ A combat frigate designed by Heinrich die Waffe, and sold extensively to other Warlords. The vessels are fairly well rounded with a spinal torpedo accelerator, two laser emitters, and four point defense turrets. They are more than capable of engaging other light ships in combat or acting in support of heavier assets. However, like most frigates, they have thin armor and shields, and generally best used in hit-and-run engagements or in wolf pack formations.

 _ **Fog Warrior class corvette:**_ Essentially a down-sized _Sun Sword,_ it sacrifices the torpedo accelerator for a pair of missile accelerators and a sizable stockpile of Batarian built missiles. The ship's main assets are its low heat emissions, exceptional sensor suite, and long-duration capacity make it an ideal picket and recon vessel. Like most light ships however, it has very thin armor and little ability to absorb damage.

* * *

 _Credit to GreaterGoodIreland for the Hensa class._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	3. Terminus Analysis: Omega Zone

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Terminus Analysis: The Omega Zone**

The Terminus systems are typically divided into five zones; The Omega Core, Spinward Region, Coreward Region, the Rimward Region, and the Anti-Spinward region. All are fairly unique and can be considered in depth.

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 _ **Omega Zone**_

 **Population:** 3 billion (estimated)

 **Species:** Mixed

 **Stellar Clusters:** 5

 **Great Warlords:** Aria T'Loak

 **Lesser Warlords:** Five Asari _Meshinvi,_ One Batarian _Ha'diq_

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The original Omega zone originally referred to the Empire of Raik Vol (Patriarch), centered on the station and encompassing several nearby stellar clusters. When he was thrown down by Aria, she was too occupied in ensuring control of the station to properly absorb his entire organization. As a result, his empire was immediately plundered and divided amongst his former rivals and subordinates.

As a result, the 'Omega Zone' shrank massively, and now refers merely to the Sahrabarik system, Aria's hidden colonial clusters, and those outcast Asari worlds that directly obey Omega's queen. The majority of these worlds are low population agricultural concerns, supplementing Aria's trade, but ther are also several industrial worlds focused on strip-mining eezo heavy moons to help conceal how little eezo Omga itself has left.

These 'hidden colonies' lay behind the Omega-Seven Relay, and access is strictly controlled. More than half of Aria's fleet is typically parked around the structure at any given time, and it is believed that more than a dozen battle stations and an additional fleet of warhips maintains a similar blocakde at the other side of the Relay. As no one besides Aria's elite officers even knows where the Relay leads, attempting to make a standard FTL trip is essentially impossible. Currently it is estimated that Aria's people have mapped at least three stellar clusters on the other end, and have somewhere near forty colonies, most little more than outposts.

 _Noteable Worlds_

Aria's largest colony is Chehenarth. A near-garden world that is tidally locked to its star, it was settled entirely due to the fact that it was bombarded by eezo heavy asteroids tens of millions of years ago. The amount of trace eezo in the water, soil, and atmosphere is higher than that of Thessia, and only Asari and Krogan typically make there homes there as a result. The former primarly work the planet's extensive eezo mines and small shipyards, helping to maintain the illusion that Omega's mines are vibrant and active. The latter are more interested in hunting the planet's exotic fauna, much of which evolved to develop natural biotic talent much like Thessia's.

The second garden world settled in the wake of Aria's rise is Zand, an arid but still 'garden' world given to a select number of Batarians who had sided with her rebellion against Patriarch. Still mostly dominated by that species, Zand is a Terminus rarity; a fairly quiet, low-key agricultural world. Less pleasantly, it is also the last stop for many slaves, who are forced to live out the remainder of their lives helping to maintain the world's mega-farms and drug production factories.

Apart from Aria's direct control are the five _Meshinvi_ who elect to obey her rather than Sederis. The most powerful of these is Matriarch Whea T'Mori, controlling the world of Hesium. Prior to Omega's discovery, Hesium was the heart of the Terminus and even now maintains an Asari-dominant population above five hundred million.

 _Distinct Culture_

The Omega zone typically reveals the worst of the Terminus when it comes to morality and decadence. Owning slaves, either as workers or for pleasure, is considered a sign of status. Most Asari older than three or four centuries attempt to emulate the rich clans of Thessia, forcing subordinates and slaves to work while they live idle lives of pleasure. This does reveal a few odd facets; there is a thriving artistic sub-culture on both Chehenarth and Hessium for example,

And of course, Omega itself remains Omega. The actions of the Archangel did see some limitations put onto the station's darkness, but by and large his actions merely made the upper classes shift away from brutality for its own sake, and towards the more sustainable exploitation exemplified by Illium Minor and Afterlife's District.

* * *

 _This is going to be the first of several very short chapters going over each of the Terminus's five regions. Once we're through those, we'll hit the Dark Rim, and then the three regions of the Attican Traverse._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	4. Terminus Analysis: Spinward Zone

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Terminus Analysis:** _ **Spinward Zone**_

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 **Population:** 47 billion (estimated)

 **Species:** 85% Asari, 5% Turian, 10% mixed

 **Stellar Clusters** : 19

 **Great Warlords:** Jona Sederis

 **Lesser Warlords:** Seventeen Asari _Meshinvi_

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Stretching from the border of the Republics to Omega, the Spinward Terminus is the original dark side of the galaxy. It was from this region that early Asari pirates, criminals, and other outcasts began to establish themselves during the early Citadel years, to eventually be joined by millions of refugees fleeing from the advancing Rachni.

In more modern times, it is the most heavily explored and populated zone within the Terminus, and is home to nearly one-fifth of the total galactic Asari population. Historically there have been three attempts at a unified government, the first of which was the Cathian Confederation. Centered around Cathia, it operated from around 687 CE to 1658 CE, and was less of a formal government and more of a means to formally ally the various Outcast Warlords together against the implied threat Republic expansion.

This 'dark republic' lasted until Matriarch T'Kun briefly seized total power, naming herself the Queen-Matriarch. Her exceptional performance during the Rethian Incursion saw real conversation over whether or not she would attempt to unify the entire Terminus beneath her rule, but such talk ended when she was challenged and killed by Raik Vol before she could make the attempt. Her death saw the Republics make quiet inroads for the first time in centuries, annexing the Crescent Nebula and establishing the colony of Illium. The control of the major relay choke-point saw an almost total cessation of pirate raids into the Republics colonial regions until the rise of the Eclipse and Illium's own secession. Even so, most dedicated pirates had long left for better hunting grounds, and this region remains fairly 'quiet' in terms of open piracy and slaving.

This zone is interesting for its high population, but also for its high number of colonized garden and class-A worlds, as well as an almost total lack of Prothean ruins. Few colonies are home to more than five or six hundred million souls, with the natives reveling in the simple freedom to migrate should a colony become too crowded for their tastes.

 _Noteable Worlds_

The original Outcast capital is Cathia, and is the second most populated world in the Terminus after Xentha. Located nearer to the galactic edge, in the small Swirling Wave Nebula, it is a placid ocean world covered in island chains. With nearly a billion and a half Asari present, _Meshinvi_ Vela T'Kun would have an ideal power-base to use for actions against Sederis should she ever decide to do so. However, as her bondmate is one of Sederis's many fathered daughters, she seems to be personally loyal and quite content to follow her father-in-law's lead. The world itself could be considered a larger copy of Illium, save that more of its economy is devoted towards supporting the Eclipse's war-machine rather than Illium's broad spectrum of investments.

While not even in the top twenty of Outcast worlds in terms of population, Illium's position and involvement in the galactic economy marks it as one of the wealthiest worlds in the galaxy. While most of this wealth is controlled by a select few mega-corporations and their Asari and Volus owners, even Illium's lower classes tend to live more comfortably than anywhere else in the Terminus. It is also the only world with a real, booming tourism industry, where the rich and famous from Citadel nations come to indulge their more base desires legally.

 _Distinct Culture_

The 'civilized' region of the Terminus, this is the only real portion where visitors from Council space might feel fairly safe. This is, naturally, an illusion; you aren't any safer here than you would be on Omega. Nearly all crimes are technically legalized in some fashion, excepting open murder and rape, but the locals tend towards very broad definitions of 'justifiable killings'. Slavery is indentured servitude, covered by the technicality that it must be 'voluntarily' agreed to, and drugs are dispensed from licensed clinics and dealers who ensure their junkies sign wavers absolving them of 'reactions'. White collar crime is so rampant as to be unremarkable unless the perpetrators are so novice as to be caught.

Outcast Asari culture is utterly predominate, even on those few worlds with alien majorities. This is largely responsible for the illusion of safety present, as even criminal Asari prefer to at least give the illusion of negotiation before they strike, and generally prefer surgical attacks over chaotic battle. Internal conflict is rarely open or overly vicious, and the region has largely missed the last few major Terminus Wars, instead 'exporting' millions of mercenaries to take part.

* * *

 _And on we go._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	5. Terminus Analysis: Rimward Zone

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Terminus Analysis:** _ **The Rimward Zone**_

* * *

 **Population:** 14 billion (estimated)

 **Species:** Mixed; Turian & Krogan predominate

 **Stellar Clusters:** 14

 **Great Warlords:** Heinrich die Waffe, Shaka ul Yesh, Yan T'Ravt

 **Lesser Warlords:** 29; Seven Krogan Warlords, eleven Batarian _Ha'diq,_ four Human Pirate Lords, five Turian Warlords, four Asari _Meshinvi_

* * *

The Rimward Terminus is currently in a state of chaos thanks to the war between Ganar Yulaz and Aria T'Loak. Previously home to the Rim Empire of Weryloc Zaen, his death and the dissolution of his nation has seen the rise of nearly a dozen additional minor warlords. This area is the least explored and possesses the lowest population of the four major Terminus regions, mostly thanks to first the threat of the Quarian's Federated State, and then the constant menace of the Geth.

Zaen's former empire was centered around the world of Redcliffe, and was mostly concentrated near Omega itself. While his capital is still in the hands of Yan T'Ravt, the remaining worlds have largely been split up beneath the few Krogan Warlords who survived the conflict. They're largely content to supervise rebuilding efforts, though they are noticeably cautious around _Ha'diq_ ul Yesh.

Despite the war, nearly all of the region's population lives in the small band of star clusters near Omega. Beyond that, the remainder of the Rimward zone is largely a collection of strip-mining operations and pirate bases except for the massive starbase that is the Stormwall shipyards. While decidedly not glamorous, they feed the Terminus's economy with massive amounts of raw materials. The region's few local food sources but abundant mechanical supplies ensures that mechs are more popular than slaves, and those living beings who operate them are typically very well paid experts rather than property.

Further, this is also the only 'safe' region in the Terminus for Quarian Migrants, and is an exceptionally popular pilgrimage location for those seeking to spend a year or two saving up for a small shuttle or badly needed goods. While more than a few still fall victim to the region's internecine warfare, or poachers moving in from other regions, Die Waffe and Zaen both highly valued Quarian expertise in their various operations and did their best to protect them.

 _Notable_ _Worlds_

Currently controlled by Lady Warlord T'Ravt, Redcliffe is the most populated world in this sparse region. Its population was almost entirely dedicated to supporting the Blood Pack's war machine, while massive slave populations worked the farms required to try and feed Zaen's empire. In the latter they were less successful, and Zaen was forced to rely heavily on imported agricultural products from Aria and Sederis up until war broke out.

The invasion saw most of the slaves revolt to join the invaders, or otherwise flee until the fighting ended. While having no personal qualms over the practice, T'Ravt sees the value in winning loyalty through freedom, and has given the former slaves control over the old Capital City and allowed them to elect a leader to serve as her planetary _Ha'diq_ in the wake of General Mascal's death. This, typically, went over very poorly with the local population, and extreme martial law measures remain in place.

The region's only other location is, quite possibly, the most important in the Terminus after Omega itself; The Stormwall Shipyards. The third largest space station in the galaxy after the Citadel and Omega, they dwarf even the Turian constructions above Palaven and are no longer capable of being moved about as they once were.

Originally built during the Rachni Wars, the yards have moved, been expanded, been destroyed, been salvaged, been rebuilt, and then seized hundreds of times over the last two thousand years. Protected by sheer distance and the Omega choke-point, they have still been the target of at least seventeen multi-Spectre operations, an unknowable number of STG sabotage efforts, and five Citadel backed raids to attempt to destroy them once and for all. Their capture by Heinrich die Waffe marked his instant rise as a Greater Warlord, and he wasted little time in refurbishing the old facility and expanding it even further.

Hovering above a blue-green gas giant in the deep Terminus, the yards are fed by massive operations that are literally cracking the crust of the world's moons to fuel their ship building. Its work force is fed from a small garden world nearby, with nearly every habitable acre covered in mech-run farmlands.

 _Distinct Culture_

There is very little of note aside from the local's tolerance and acceptance of Migrant Quarians. This is often a heavy source of strain between warlords of this region and those from the Anti-Spinward zone, who currently favor the more militant Xenthan Quarian race. Beyond that, the usual Terminus mixture anarchy and dictatorships can be expected.

* * *

 _Two more to go._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	6. Terminus Analysis: Coreward Zone

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Terminus Analysis:** _ **T**_ _ **he Coreward Zone**_

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 **Population:** 25 billion (estimated)

 **Species:** Mixed

 **Stellar Clusters:** 12

 **Great Warlords:** None

 **Lesser Warlords** : 27; Four Krogan warlords, seven Human pirate lords, two Salarian warlords, seven Batarian _Ha'diq,_ five Turian warlords, two Asari _Meshinvi_

* * *

The Coreward zone of the Terminus is by the far most unstable region, which is a change from centuries past where it was a generally stable zone divided into two or three nation-states. The combination of Patriarch's downfall and Jona Sederis's killing of the Salarian Trinity saw the region devolve into a chaotic sprawl.

Sections of it were briefly controlled by the Salarian Warlord Gormack, but his lack of interest in nation building saw very little stability brought to the region. The Blue Sun Network was more successful in briefly allying many of the lesser warlords into a loose alliance, but the Network's collapse again quickly undid any progress. Several worlds were briefly controlled by both Sederis and T'Ravt in the wake of that war, but both withdrew their forces when Ganar's Krogan Empire made its mad bid to conquer the Terminus.

As the majority of the lesser warlords in this region answer to Aria more or less solely, it is generally expected that she will eventually 'annex' the entire region once she feels secure enough to do so. However, the recent two wars and her own focus on building up her hidden colonial regions has slowed any progress. It will likely be decades or centuries before she makes any real effort to directly control the area.

It is from this region that the majority of the pirates who menace the Traverse, Systems Alliance, and Union operate from, and the region's economy is almost entirely built around the practice. Local industry and agriculture is generally extremely weak as a result, with the population badly reliant on stolen goods and food to simply survive. In those years where raiding is not profitable, the local warlords are often forced to in-debt themselves badly to Aria in exchange for crucial materials.

 _Noteable Worlds_

Korlus is the most known world in this region, and one of the few that doesn't rely entirely on piracy in order to survive. Its ship breaking facilities are easily the largest in the galaxy, and have even been utilized by Council nations during calm years. The citizens of the world are nearly Quarian in their ability to rapidly salvage and rebuild ships, often able to turn three hulks bought for nothing into a functional warship that can be sold for a massive profit. Of course, the trade off is that the world itself is a veritable hell-world from centuries of environmental damage and neglect, and is generally considered non-viable outside of the domed cities. Having changed owners multiple times over the last several decades, the citizens of Korlus tend to ignore politics in favor of survival and profit.

The one-time capital of the break-away Salarian Trinity is Vee'kesh, an extremely wet garden world located in the Gushin Cluster near the galactic core. Once a very powerful empire spanning most of the Coreward Zone, the Trinity fared very badly against the expansionist Xenthan Empire under the Hakar dynasty, losing more than half of their territory. The final nail came when a minor skirmish with the Eclipse blew up into a full-blown war, leading to an invasion of Vee'kesh itself and the death of the three Dalatrasses who made up the Trinity.

Still not quite recovered from that invasion, Vee'kesh remains one of the few Salarian-dominant worlds in the Terminus, but anti-Salarian sentiment (itself a side-effect of the Trinity's high-handed actions in the past) ensures that there is minimal trade or visitors to the world. It is currently controlled by a pair of Salarian warlords whose dream of re-creating the Trinity's empire is hampered by their personal rivalry.

 _Distinct Culture_

When most people think of the Terminus, if they are not thinking of Omega, this is the region they are picturing. Most of the worlds are little more than anarchic messes, with the lesser Warlords almost universally 'pirate kings' who focus entirely on maintaining their fleets and don't care for the effort of maintaining colonies. Still, as the pirates are reliant on the colonies to buy their goods, and the colonies are reliant on the pirates to bring in raw materials, there is a strange kind of 'live and let live' policy in place. Colonists are generally careful to never involve themselves in disputes between pirate groups, and the pirates themselves avoid getting entangled in local politics.

* * *

 _One more to go._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	7. Terminus Analysis: Anti-Spinward Zone

I don't own the Mass Effect.

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 **Terminus Analysis:** _ **The Anti-Spinward Zone**_

* * *

 **Population:** 38 billion (estimated)

 **Species:** Mixed; Batarian and Turian dominant

 **Stellar Clusters:** 17

 **Great Warlords:** Shaka ul Yesh, Yan T'Ravt, Heinrich die Waffe

 **Lesser Warlords** : 6; Three Turian warlords, one Human _Ha'diq,_ two Batarian _Ha'diq_

* * *

Stretching across most of the border of the Attican Traverse, and touching the Dark Rim on the galactic edge, the Anti-Spinward Zone is nearly as stable as the Spinward Zone and has largely been divided between three nation states over the last three centuries. Recent decades has seen the merger of two of these, the Traverse Free State having joined the Xenthan Empire, and Ganar's Krogan Empire having collapsed and been replaced by Shaka ul Yesh's Rimward Collective.

The region is highly unusual in the relative rarity of Relays, and the very few worlds located near said Relays. Most of the garden worlds require a week or more of FTL travel from the nearest Relays to reach them, and it is generally believed that the Citadel has a very poor understanding of just how many colonized worlds actually lay in this region.

The predominate power in this zone is the Xenthan Empire, which stretches from the Theodosian system near the dark rim all the way to the Rethian cluster near the Coreward zone. This nation has steadily grown since its inception in the wake of the Morning War three centuries ago, and now is roughly the same size as the Systems Alliance. An extreme rarity in the Terminus, it survived through eight generations of the Hakar family without disintegrating, and only suffered a very minor civil war when Yan T'Ravt took power in the wake of Hakar the Eighth's death.

Laying in between the Dark Rim and Perseus Veil is the area once controlled entirely by Ganar Yulaz, but is now run by the young Batarian _Ha'diq_ Shaka ul Yesh. His Rimward Collective remains fairly small, but he has quickly worked to win the loyalty of those surviving Krogan even as he brings in additional Batarian allies to shore up his power-base. Currently his primary focus has been repairing the extensive infrastructural damage suffered during the war, as well as making sure that his small nation remains independent of both Aria and T'Ravt.

 _Noteable Worlds_

The former capital of the Traverse Free State is the garden world of Antiva, located in the Tevine cluster. Like most Turian-dominated worlds, every city is a veritable fortress, and its population easily stood off a two year siege by Krogan and Vorcha attackers during the recent war. Although T'Ravt has moved her capital to Xentha, she remains fond of Antiva, and ensures that the world receives a generous portion of the funds she brings in from taxation and tithes.

Located in a minor hub system, Theodosius was the capital of the Blue Sun Network and is a critical strategic world at the edge of the Terminus. Its three relays connect the Terminus directly to both the Dark Rim and the Hegemony controlled section of the Traverse, causing the Khar'shan-Omega trade lane to run through the system. A borderline world wracked constantly by extreme weather, the mixed Human and Batarian population prides itself on their almost grim dismissal of their world's dangers. Technically ruled by Darner Vosque even after the Networks' collapse, T'Ravt has carefully made sure to transfer or 'retire' most of the old Blue Suns in order to maintain sufficient loyalty amongst the system's defenders.

The capital of the Rim Collective is Zadith Ban. Once described as a 'mix of Tuchanka and Khar'shan', it is an unpleasant desert world that only Krogan truly appreciate. Batarians cluster around the world's more habitable equatorial regions, and few other species willingly make their homes there. Its massive factories were largely responsible for arming Ganar's Blood Pack, and Ul Yesh's primary focus has been on repairing those facilities in the wake of his seizure of the world.

Finally, there are the Conquest Yards, once a Krogan run operation that were seized by Die Waffe in his efforts to monopolize ship building in the Terminus. Located in a 'dead' stellar cluster not far from the Dark Rim, they are not nearly as massive as the Stormwall yards but are still capable of constructing dreadnought sized vessels.

 _Distinct Culture_

There are two distinct cultures in this region, Xenthan and Imperial Krogan. The former spread quickly after Hakar the First's seizure of the world, to the point where the Traverse Free State was essentially just a less populated mirror of the Turian's nation during the centuries where both nations existed.

The latter marks this region as the only real place where the old Krogan ways managed to cling to some semblance of life. This was almost entirely thanks to Ganar's obsession with preserving his people's culture, something that drew many of his race to his side. Zadith Ban has nearly as many Shamans and Loremasters as Tuchanka despite its much lower population, and they endeavor to raise their few young 'properly'. Unfortunately this also includes the infectious hatred for all things Turian and Salarian, and an irrational level of belief in Krogan supremacy. Whether or not this will change in the wake of the deaths of Ganar Yulaz and Weryloc Zaen remains to be seen.

* * *

 _Skipped Xentha in noteable worlds since it already has an entire chapter devoted to it._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


	8. Cerberus Analysis: The Dark Rim

I don't own the Mass Effect.

* * *

 **Cerberus Briefing Primer: The Dark Rim**

Miss Lawson,

I am pleased that you found my primer on the Asari so informative, and useful, and am more than happy to continue assisting you in educating new recruits. The delightful Miss Chambers selected several topics for me to cover, and I have elected to begin with a proper separation of the so called 'lawless regions'.

The Terminus, Attican Traverse, and Dark Rim are all considered separate for a very good reason, and are quite different culturally. A proper understanding and appreciation of the facts is important if our organization is to survive in those wilds. As this document may also be used by more militant minds, General Petrovksy graciously extended an offer to add intelligence notes on the various groups.

Professor H. Collins

* * *

 **Part I: The Dark Rim**

Stretching from the Hegemony Rim to the Perseus Veil region, the Dark Rim is one of the least explored sections of the galaxy, and is thusly the source of many tall tales and rumors. Supposedly everything from Matriarch Kisen's lost writings to the treasure of Warlord Irol can be found if one is brave enough to dare uncharted space. Other tales speak of hidden empires composed of strange alien beings who shun galactic contact, impregnable Dyson-spheres built for reasons unknown, and even swarms of Von Neuman machines endlessly building for masters long dead.

Reality is far less extravagant, as it often is. The Dark Rim is largely filled with tiny colonial operations, most composed of fewer than a thousand inhabitants, and similarly small mining operations that provide what wealth they can. The only government sponsored colonies are a small subset of Hegemony worlds that lay in the Veddathi cluster, connected to the Traverse and Hegemony Rim by relay 672. Aside from a noted tendency towards isolationism, they are fairly typical Batarian worlds and will not be remarked upon further.

The largest difficulty in even discussing the Rim is its 'Dark' nature. Only three Relays have officially been mapped along its borders, and even the STG is rumored to only know of three more. How many are known to the locals, Warlord Cessa in particular, is entirely unknown. It is likely to be on the order of roughly a dozen, connecting to an equivalent number of stellar clusters inhabited by her people.

We know of at least ten independent colonies in the region, the largest of which are Cala's Hostel and Mikkidan. Both are roughly equivalent in size to Horizon, and are believed to be the most populous worlds in the entire Rim. The former world is the primary trade depot for goods flowing in and out of the rim from the Terminus, and very shortly hosted an ambassador from the Quarian Federated State; marking the first and last time that a Terminus Warlord was officially recognized by any 'civilized' power as the ruler of a nation state.

* * *

 _Society & Culture_

Overall, the Dark Rim is unusual amongst the three large regions in the relative civilization that its inhabitants offer. This is less a matter of culture and more a matter of necessity. Most of the known worlds are rural affairs with a minimal population and a heavy reliance on local community cohesion in order to eke out a living. Those larger worlds, such as Cala's Hostel, are simply larger versions of the less populated colonies. In many ways they resemble the Alliance colonies in the Skyllian Verge, being similarly independent, proud, and having a tendency to look down on those who live 'easier' lives.

If one is willing to ignore the fact that most of the colonies exist via pirate support, the Dark Rim is a curiously peaceful region. Most people who migrate there do so in order to be left alone, and prefer not to be involved in politics beyond their home regions. Travelers are generally treated coolly, if hospitably, unless they make the mistake of angering their hosts. When such a thing does occur, the inhabitants can quickly reveal themselves to be just as violent and fond of 'making examples' as their Terminus kin.

This brings us to the primary difference between Rim pirates and those who operate in the Traverse, though few Alliance citizens would appreciate the distinction. Most pirates who operate in the Traverse raid for profit, or simply because they can. Most pirates who operate out of the Rim raid because they _have_ to in order to maintain their colonies. Largely Rim pirates steal omni-forges wherever possible, along with water and air purifiers, and other hard-to manufacture equipment required for life on difficult worlds. Weaponry and armor is considered secondary, or occasionally tertiary (behind food and alcohol, particularly delicacies).

 _Petrovsky_ – _From a strictly military point of view, this is the basis for the so called 'Origin Rule' developed by the early Corsairs. If a colony's inhabitants were taken, but its supplies remain, the attackers were likely from the Hegemony. If a colony's inhabitants remain, but its supplies were taken, they came from the Rim. If there is no colony left to find, they came from the Traverse._

In terms of general population, it is believed that Asari and Batarians make up the majority of the natives.

* * *

 _Government & Military_

The closest thing to a governing body is the organization of Warlord Cessa T'Auriel, the 'Dancing Blade'. Her organization is built more like a collection of terrorist cells rather than a traditional Asari _Meshinvi_ dictatorship. We believe this to be largely a means of concealing just how many colonies she actually controls and how many ships she has at her disposal, but the Quarians of Rannoch believed that she ruled in something like a constitutional monarchy.

There is some evidence of this, as each colony seems to elect or appoint someone who is sent to an unknown location in the deep rim. These officials do return alive, typically after several years, and some of their parsed commentary indicate that they were employed in administrative/governmental work during that time.

Exactly how much power these colonial representatives have in comparison to T'Auriel is entirely unknown to us... and likely even to most inhabitants of the Rim. What we do know is that her 'taxation' system revolves primarily around agriculture and hydration, less as a means of control and more ensuring that her colonies and military all have proper reserves in case of famine or conflict.

 _Petrovsky_ – _Militarily her forces are fairly ramshackle... at least, those forces that we have been allowed to see. She relies on older Terminus and Hegemony designs, with a very limited selection of old Asari vessels. Her ground forces, at least those seen in raids, appear to be colonists with limited military training and whatever weapons and armor they've been able to scavenge. While this would seem to mark them as no real threat, it is worth remembering that they have been active for the better part of two centuries and have yet to be overtaken._

* * *

 _The Warlord_

Cessa T'Auriel is an extremely enigmatic Asari Matriarch, a reputation that she seems to actively cultivate for bother herself and her people. What little we know is that she was once a young Captain in the Republics navy, until an incident involving an Asari Spectre that saw her and her crew desert and flee to the Rim.

At least eight centuries old, she is considered fairly handsome by her fellow Asari, and is viewed something of a sex icon on those worlds our agents have visited... but again, we have no real knowledge if she actually indulges in such behavior. Since her throne world, if she even has one, is as unknown as so many other things, her continued survival is something only confirmed once a decade or so.

More worrying is her ability to inspire fanatic levels of loyalty from the general population, across nearly every species. Many people our agents interviewed openly consider a near messianic figure for her refusal to bow to either Patriarch or Aria, and the fact that she has repeatedly beaten back invaders of all stripes over the last four centuries.

Politically, she is an oddity. She associates, albeit distantly, with the other Warlords, yet does not involve herself in their plots and infighting. She allows limited trade with Citadel Corporations, but has thrown out every diplomat sent in the last several centuries... and executed two who made the mistake of protesting. The only certainties are several declarations that she has made in the past, indicating that she would support any Terminus alliance against the Citadel, and her open loathing of the Republics, Union, Hegemony, and Alliance (in order of the vitriol directed).

Still, she seems to openly value peace over war, and aside from a few supply raids, can go decades without involving herself in affairs beyond her borders. Even these raids have clearly tailored off over the last seven decades, probably evidence of improved industrial capacity in the Rim.

 _Petrovsky_ _– As a military leader, Cessa is exceptionally dangerous. Either she has a very large, modern fleet hidden in the Rim that she utilizes to destroy attackers... or else she is one of the greatest fleet admirals in galactic history. In truth, it is likely a combination, with her skills being backed up by adroit usage of a small but advanced fleet, but like so much else about the Rim we simply cannot be certain._

* * *

 _Threat Level to Humanity_

Very low. If not for the fact that raiding more technologically advanced colonies is a requirement to care for her own people, Cessa would likely have long vanished into the unexplored regions of the Rim. Unfortunately, her hostile attitude towards the Council and Alliance ensures that there is no easy political solution. I can only recommend that they be left alone and allowed to raid Batarian worlds for whatever supplies they need.

 _Petrovsky_ – _Agreed on the threat level. Chasing her forces into the Rim is little more than a suicide run. The locals are fanatical and, as the Hegemony has discovered, have measures in place to destroy their own navigational equipment rather than let it be captured by anyone else. Best to ensure that human colonies are not close to the Rim, or at least ensure that they are too well defended to be worth the risk to raid._

* * *

 _ **End Report**_

* * *

 _A small section on the Dark Rim, back to using Cerberus Reports as a delivery mechanism. The next chapter will cover the Attican Traverse._

 _ **Please read and review, criticism is welcome, flames not so much, as usual. Reviews are my lifeblood as a writer.. every-time my email goes off with a review it makes me want to write more, so please take the time to leave one. Guests can leave them as well, and it only takes a minute, so please. Even if it's as simple as "I enjoyed it, please continue."**_

 _Thanks, Kat_


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